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David Lamb, 20, paces in the small music room at the Samford Academy of Arts as board certified music therapist Sunny Davenport plays the piano. When she stops to turn to a new song in the old music book he brought, he stops, too, waiting for the music to begin again. It doesn’t take long.

For Ernest “Big Dog” Fann, baseball is life. Now in his late 70s, Fann, a Birmingham resident, spent his entire life playing the sport, and at times fighting for his place in it.

For the retired engineer, who was born in the segregated Southern city of Macon, Georgia, in the late 1930s, the chance to play baseball involved sacrifice, suffering, and determination. It isn’t just about sport, he says, but equality.

For Necole Ezell, launching a career in information technology in 1996 as a woman was not the easiest thing to do.

Back then, as a recent graduate of the University of Alabama, Necole saw very few women, and fewer who looked like her (a woman of color) in her chosen field. But now as Protective’s Enterprise IT Planning & Analysis Manager, Second Vice President, she sees more women launching and flourishing in careers across many technical fields — a welcomed development.

This time of year, the Salvation Army bell ringers have gone home and the red kettles have been put away. But the work of the Salvation Army doesn’t stop. The money that goes into the kettles and donations throughout the year provide a vital safety net for individuals and communities in crisis.

It’s that time of the year again — when non-profits make their annual year-end giving appeals. With so many worthy organizations to choose from, here’s something to think about: making choices that count twice in supporting people with special needs.

Seventy-five years ago this month, a group of visionaries came together to found an organization that would go on to pioneer groundbreaking science that has saved lives, impacted the environment, and even helped Americans explore space.

Each year, nearly a quarter of a million women in America are diagnosed with breast cancer. The second most common cancer diagnosis among American women, it’s a disease that impacts many. But there is good news: today there are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S., and great strides have been made to improve treatments and diagnostics.

Alabama’s Black Belt stretches across the middle of the state from Mississippi to near the Georgia line. Abundant in human, geographic and cultural diversity, the Black Belt’s name was derived from its rich, dark soil.

Addressing the systemic challenges of poverty is no easy task. But in Birmingham’s Woodlawn community, this is exactly what’s happening through multi-pronged efforts designed to build long-term success.

And now, the efforts to revitalize what was once a thriving town are yielding results, with Woodlawn welcoming new businesses and residents and continuing to grow as an innovative hub for education and community wellness.

University of Alabama business students will soon have summer internship opportunities in Japan thanks to Japanese and Birmingham-based life insurance companies, the entities announced Sept. 20 in a campus ceremony.

The two companies established The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company and Protective Life Corporation Global Internship Program fund in UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce.